Journey of a Merman
by Immasweetslover
Summary: "I just had to be the 'lucky' one didn't I? it's because of those stupid ants that i got stuck in the pool that lead to all of this. I was only trying to find a good place to settle down! please spare me!" journey of a merman is about just that the journey of a merman trying to find his place with a few hiccups here and there this technically counts as Greek mythology...right?
1. Chapter 1

Mermaids, the legendary creature of the deep. Many a tale has been told of the fishy fiends, some good some bad. Some tales tell of mermaids luring sailors to their doom with their sweet singing, while other stories tell of them as caring and loving beings of intelligence, but which tale is the true tale? Can any of them be held to a real standard? Well that's what we'll find out about in this story as we take a trip in a mermans eyes and his journey into a world unlike his own.

Now before I actually start to tell you this strange story I have to give a bit of background on these creatures of the deep don't i? Well let's begin with the most fascinating feature of merfolk, their appearance. All merfolk have five sets of fins. Wrist fins, pelvic fins, tail fins, dorsal fins, and ear fins. These fins help them balance, move, turn and navigate in water. Their upper bodies look just like humans but their backs, lower arms, and shoulders are usually covered in small glittering scales. As soon as you reach the pelvis though that's where the tail starts. The tail usually varies from merfolk to merfolk but it's always in the same place whether scaly, slimy, slippery, or smooth.

Now Merfolk hold themselves in two species essentially. There are the surface merfolk, and the deep sea merfolk. Deep sea merfolk are the most common and are a rare sight these days only a few coming out of chosen hiding places to hunt or claim territory. Most of these merfolk prefer to live in the deeper calmer more remote areas of the world, heck most of them had never even breathed the clean light fresh waters closer to land. As such these deep sea merfolk have dark colored scales and sometimes give off bioluminescent glow they are built heavily and muscular to deal with the heavy sea pressure and have longer more powerful tails to swim with. Their eyes glow in the dark to better see prey and only come to the surface during storms to feed.

Surface merfolk however are very different from their deep sea cousins. Surface merfolk are even rarer than their cousins hardly being seen at all, though you'd wonder how you missed them with how brightly colored they are. Some surface merfolk live in salt water while others live in fresh water but either way they're tails and fins are littered with the colors of the rainbow. Bright stripes of orange tangle with bright blue with splashes of pink or silver mixes with yellow in dots and patterns. If ever you see a surface merfolk you can't help but stare at it's brightly colored tail and odd colored hair and eyes.

Whether deep sea or surface all merfolk have a common goal in mind, don't let a human catch you out and about, or you'll suffer from the same fate this young merman did.


	2. Chapter 2

Why was it always me? Why was it always me getting into these situations? Why was I always the one to get stuck like this? I whined to myself as I half crawled half drug myself through the half flooded forest. I always had to get stuck in situations like this. It was always a different situation but they always spelled out trouble. I flicked a large carpenter ant off me and continued crawling. This was going to be the death of me.

Let me explain what's happening here. A few weeks back I had to move out of my reef to find a new unclaimed area due to mine being taken over by a larger, more aggressive and protective merman. Yea that's right merman. They exist the merfolk some are more pleasant than others but we exist, I'm one of them. It's why I was currently crawling and dragging my tail around a half flooded forest that I could barely swim in. I was looking for a new area to mark as my own, but it had turned out to be more difficult than I thought. Every fight I was in had ended with me getting my tail kicked out and back on the open ocean. I gave up after that and just decided to try my luck in fresh water areas. This led me to the predicament I am in now.

After weeks of trying to find a suitable entrance to something fresh water I swam upon a river that switched from salt water to fresh. I instantly took up the challenge of swimming up river and found myself in a lush forest with plenty of trees for shade that were laden with fruit and flowers. I instantly decided I liked it here and would make this my home but not here in the open river, I had to find a more secluded area in which to live in. that lead me to looking beyond the river. It had overflowed during the rainy season and as thus I had easy access to other parts of the forest going deeper and deeper but soon I realized that the water was getting thinner. I tried to make it back to the main river but no avail so I was left dragging myself through the last little bits of flooded river water to try and make it back to the water before the ants ate me. They were getting bolder with each day the water dropped, and some had even followed my trail. I winced and flicked some of the ants off my tail and tried to crawl faster. If I didn't find a body of water soon I'd be eaten alive, and that's something no one should experience.

I was just about to take a small rest when I saw something sparkling just beyond the brush. It didn't look like jewelry, so it had to be something else. I crawled even faster to where the sparkling was and nearly cried in relief. It was a large body of water, it looked something like a mangrove, which was even better. I immediately dived in scattering mudskippers and hidden mudpuppies as I crawled through the mud and into the water. It was a sweet relief to be back in the water. It was even better that the mangrove was large, but secluded. This gave me the right to mark it as my own territory with no one interfering with me it also gave me room to live in without overeating the population, and I needed to eat. This was my new home for sure.


	3. Chapter 3

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~5 Months later~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

After a few fins(months to you humans) I was all settled in. I had explored all the areas of the mangrove and had marked the whole perimeter. No one had dared bother me not even the manatees that I sometimes saw swimming just a ways from my territory. I liked that a lot it meant no sharing with the neighbors although I did like seeing them munch on the seagrass. It was when a small click of dolphins entered my territory that I had started having problems. They had started eating a herd of peacock bass that I was going to sneak up on. I growled at them and launched from my hiding place putting on a brilliant display. I raised my dorsal fin and rattled it ominously hissing and showing my fangs and nails. I was not going to share this place with anyone I was certainly not going to crawl back to where I came from.

I ended up having to fight them to get them to leave which left one of them dead sadly and the last few injured. they clicked their displeasure as they finally left my territory and me alone bloody, tired, and hungrier than I had ever been. They had managed to rip and tear into me as if I was one their fish feast. I had bite marks on my tail and most of my fins had rips, tears and holes in them. I sank next to the dead dolphin and rested against it for a little bit. This is why I hated fights like this, they made merpeople weary, bloody, and hungry.

I was really hungry. I looked around for a school of fish I could fest upon and found a target. It was a mangrove crab crawling along the root unaware of the murder that had just been done. I carefully hid myself just underneath the root of the tree it was under, making a note of it's location before snapping up and grabbing it with my hands. I felt it struggle for freedom under my fingers as I brought it down to my face and shoved it into my mouth. I crushed it's shell with my fangs and dug the meat out of the shell. It wasn't enough to keep me full though that's when I looked at the dead dolphin. It was awfully wasteful to leave it there so I ate the poor thing. I only ate two thirds of the thing before burying the rest for later taking a note to give t a proper burial. After filling myself with dolphin and crab meat I went back to patrolling my borders afraid that more intruders would come. I guess that's what got me in trouble later one the following weeks.


	4. Chapter 4

After the dolphin massacre, and a good nights rest I decided to expand my border a bit just in case more decided they wanted in. I extended it at about an extra 13 clicks(I guess a little longer than a meter). I stopped there because I didn't want my area to be so large that I couldn't protect it properly. That and I had actually extended it so far that I reached the end of the mangrove. Past the mangrove I could see where the large pool of water actually stopped and along it was a collection of housing areas for humans. In fact a few of them were in the water casting weaved wires and catching the fish with them while human guppies played in the nearby water. I was safe as long as I was in my mangrove, but that didn't stop me from feeling un easy. I couldn't leave the pool, the community over at the edge was proof, and I had nowhere else to go, the ants would eat me if I tried to make it all the back to the main river. I hardly doubted the rainy season would start up again so soon after just a few fins plus a couple of twist(weeks in you're time so I'm told). I seemed to be trapped in an unsavory situation. I swam back to my mangrove and into my little den under a few roots of the mangrove tree. I was trapped but that didn't mean I would scare off easily. I didn't want humans to see me I just had to stay away from them and in my mangrove, they hadn't come in this far for all the fins I'd been here so why should they now? I reassured myself as I took a small nap. They'd leave me alone I'd leave them alone and we'd all be happy. If only I had known.

When I woke up again it was in the late evening as the sun was dipping behind the forest line dragging the light with it. I swam out from underneath my lair checking to see if there were any threat to my area but found none so I swam out in the open. It was a gorgeous sunset, so I decided why not catch the last few sun rays? I swam up to the bank and laid on my back raising my dorsal fin slightly as the sun hit me. It felt great to soak up sunlight. Merfolk love the sun basking in it on sand bars, rock faces, or beaches it was just nice to feel the warming rays. It wasn't nice however when it was interrupted by a high pitched voice calling in it's strange tongue and laughing...hold on voices?...I hissed and took to the water hoping the human guppy saw nothing but a large tailfin that I hoped he thought was a fish. I stirred up the muddy water to hide myself and went into my den. It was silent after that…too silent. I knew that this was bad sign, I had to relocate somehow otherwise I would be exposed, and the merfolk would live a life of fear and hiding all thanks to me.


	5. Chapter 5

The chore of waking up should not be taken slowly. One should wake up full of energy and ready to start the days hunt and perimeter check. One should not drag his tail through the mud and grumble and complain about his life otherwise life will provide said merperson with a real reason to complain. As such these rules go one should follow else they will end up with this happening to them.

After the frightening day I had yesterday I didn't want to leave my den at all. The comforting bark of the mangrove roots hide me well and I knew that the tangled branches would hold the humans off for good while. I could escape if any got too curious and tried to catch the "big fishy". So I stayed in my den flowing through the mangroves abandoning the days perimeter check and dozing off beneath the roots. When I was hungry all I had to do was pounce at a few mangrove crabs and satisfy myself. Of course that required me to catch lots, and lots, and lots of crabs since they were so small and offered so much meat. Sometimes if I was lucky a fish would stumble upon me and I'd snap it up in my jaws thankful for the more savory tid-bit of meat it provided. I was hunting a few more mangrove crabs when a flash of silver scales caught my eye. It was large fish I could tell you that much and it was hiding just a few swishes away(feet). I could easily fell the beast with a well placed bite. I lurked carefully making sure I was down stream and placed myself to where I could easily leap out and snatch it. I opened my mouth poised myself and launched at the large fish. Unfortunately I missed and ended up chasing it through the mangrove roots unwilling to let it escape my jaws. I hissed defiantly as it made a sharp turn through the roots. I followed it slammed into some kind of spider web. I hissed and twisted trying to untangle myself from the web but it only made it worse. I shrieked in defiance. I had lsot my fish and gotten caught! This couldn't get worse!


	6. Chapter 6

I struggled in that web for what must have been hours. I was trapped and even more tangled than I was at the beginning! I hissed and shrieked and screamed in my frustration but I was still unable to get loose. Finally I was so tangled in the web that I all I could was shriek in protest. It was horrible tight and cut into my dorsal fin. I was still sore my fight with the dolphins and despite cleaning the bleeding wounds they weren't scabbing over. I screamed as the net bit into my fins re-opening the wounds and spreading my blood through the water. I was sure it was going to attract predators seeing as how I was near the edge of the mangrove. That's probably the reason I got caught in this infernal web I shrieked again almost wishing something would set me free. That was when I heard the strange sounds of human voices. I should've been more careful what I wished for.


	7. Chapter 7

It wasn't long before the humans strange calls came close rot me. I couldn't understand their language nor did I really want to, but hearing their strange language getting closer to me made me nervous. I started thrashing hard trying to at least get further into the mangrove but it was useless they were too close. It wasn't long before I felt them tugging the web with me in it out of the mangrove roots to get a closer look at their catch. I hissed and struggled harder in an attempt to free myself from their grasp but it was useless. I was pulled out of the mangrove roots and out in the open.

I felt exposed to their eyes as silence and stillness fell over us like a blanket. Their gazes locked onto my tail. I felt scared for the first time in a long time. I was exposed and in danger. I didn't know what these humans would do but I didn't want to find out. I growled and tried to flip over to get out of the grasp, but that seemed to snap them out of their stupor. They dragged me further away from the mangrove. I shrieked and struggled, but it didn't matter. I'd never see that mangrove again, my home.


	8. Chapter 8

As soon as I was dragged out of the mangrove I was tied to a post half submerged and half above the water. I shrieked and screamed protesting the binding but I was outnumbered and forced to stay in the enclosed area around the post. I remember shrieking and struggling on that post for 3 days straight till I could shriek no more. What was worse was that my injuries were getting worse. The bite marks dislocated my scales and swelled up making my silver scales seem red. While I had always wanted to be as colorful as some of the other surface mer my own color scheme seeming so bland of silver scales white fins and silver hair I did not want my tail to hurt this badly. I was worried that as soon as I was able to get away that I wouldn't be able to swim quick enough because of the pain. I gurgled in displeasure and sank as far as I could under the water. This couldn't get any worse.

After the fourth sleepless night something changed. I was visited by humans that seemed different than the others. I couldn't place what made me so wary of them but I could tell that these humans were different but just as dangerous. I hissed at them as they came closer to me recognizing one of them as female and the other a male. They looked at me like all the humans looked at me shocked and in awe. The new humans turned to talk with the others before the female started approaching me. I hissed at her in my raspy voice, it still hadn't recovered from my shrieking. She didn't seem to get the picture as she leaned closer to me gurgling in her native tongue. I snapped at her flashing my fangs and growling. She looked at me quizzically and stretched out her hand towards my face. I growled at it and moved away from her hand as it came closer. I snapped at her hand and she quickly retracted it frowning at me. I snarled and struggled to get out of the bonds banging my tail against the post. I shrieked in pain as I had forgotten how badly my tail hurt. The female seemed to have notice my discomfort and looked down at my tail. She gasped and yelled in her tongue at some of the humans as they grabbed my post. I hissed at them wishing I could rattle my dorsal fin at them to make them get away from me or at least be able to nip them but their hands were too far away and thus they lifted up my post and dragged me to the shore with me still hissing at them.

The female ran over to me as they laid me on the shore and looked at my tail again seemingly distraught at the wounds. This puzzled me. No mer had ever been this interested in me to care about whether my wounds healed properly as they were usually the ones who gave me the wounds in the first place, so why should a human care? Something deep inside me wanted to know what made her care and why she was so interested but all of that flew out the window when she touched the swollen bite marks. I shrieked and pain and tried with all my might to shrink away from her touch. But more humans came to hold me down further aggravating the wounds. Even though I was hoarse and it hurt I still screamed in pain. It hurt so much it was nearly unbearable. I couldn't take it any longer! Then sweet relief as their hands moved. I gurgled softly panting to try and recatch my breath. That's when I felt the most soothing sensation. something was rubbing behind my ear fin. I thrummed as I let the pleasant sensation wash over me closing y eyes and letting myself enjoy it. It felt nice, after all that pain it was really calming. I leaned into whatever was causing me to feel so pleasant inhaling it's scent to make sure I remember it. I felt a pinch on my neck after I did that. I growled at whatever it was that dared disturb this moment but felt to tired to really sink my nails into it. I fell asleep surprisingly comfortable for the first time in a long time.


	9. Chapter 9

When I woke up after a well-deserved and calm rest I was in some new area. It took me a minute to remember why I wasn't in my lair at the mangrove. I growled in displeasure and looked around. I was in the water again since I remember last being on the shore, but it was so clear. I could see through the water without even trying. It felt unnatural to be in such clear water. Something told me water this clear was never found in nature. I was in some kind of place but I didn't know what. I was about to try and swim a little to check out the area but I winced as I tried to move my tail. It was too painful to swim properly with, so I had no choice but to sit there and think about my predicament.

First I get kicked out of my reef and had to travel nearly the entire ocean to find a new home. I find a fresh water river and try to find a home there only to get stuck in the rainforest dragging my tail through the receding water fending off ants. I finally find a large mangrove sanctuary and claim it as my own only to find out that humans live just at the edge of the pool. And at last I get captured by the humans and end up here. I have the worst luck of all the merfolk. I gurgled sadly. I missed the salt water reef I used to stay in. it was so colorful and full of life and it was always bustling with school of fish to catch and eat. The male that had stolen it from me was way bigger and intimidating with red scales stripped with orange and a twin dorsal fin. He had a mate too so it was no wonder he won. I had to cross many tail lengths to reach the river and that was my first encounter with fresh water. It had scared me at first but I had gotten used it and even grown to like it better than salt water. The fish were just as tasty as well. I was hungry now that I thought about it. I wasn't about to let myself be fed by these humans, but it'd be nice to have something to eat. I didn't even eat while I was tied to the post. I sighed and twisted so I was looking up. I hoped this whole thing would end soon I just want to go back to my old life. I just wanted to live out my days whether I mated or not. I just…wanted to eat something! I was really hungry!


	10. Chapter 10

It was becoming hard to tell which day was which. I sat in the tank for so long that I thought the humans had forgotten me, but while I tried to distract myself from thinking about food the female from last time walked up to where I was with another male. When she saw me her whole face seemed to light up. It was actually kind of alluring. Her fingers grazed over the glass and intrigued by the motion I sat up watched them circle the glass and point at me. I was thoroughly confused with this woman. She looked at me differently than the humans and I felt it. I didn't know why but it intrigued me.

It made me wonder if I could somehow reach her on that same level. The male nodded at whatever she had just said and suddenly I was in another web. I shrieked and struggled to get the web off me this time I was determined not to get tangled in the mess. However the web won once again and I was pulled up. They were trying to surface me! I shrieked my voice having recovered and tried to get back to the water but they were too strong. I was pulled up and out of the water. I stared in horror as they lowered me onto a slab of rock where I was instantly held down by other humans. I hissed at them and snapped at their fingers but this only incited them to hold me down tighter. The female came over to me and I snarled at her but then I caught her scent. It was the same scent that I had noted when something was rubbing my ear fin. I stopped snarling and looked at her quizzically. Should I let her rub my ear fin? She was human and probably no less dangerous than the men holding e down but she was so gentle when she touched me. I flared my ear fin outwards deciding it was fine if only she touched me and turned my head towards her.

I waited for a few seconds before I felt her fingers caressing my ear fin. I started thrumming as the pleasantness washed over me again. I closed my eyes just like last time and unconsciously flicked my tail. My thrum instantly turned into a pained whimper as my tail burned with the movement. The females fingers left my ear fin and instead started patting my head. I looked up at her questioningly, but she only smiled gently babbling something in her own tongue that sounded like a murmur of consol. I relaxed again somehow knowing that she meant no harm to me and I let her gently lift my tail up. I almost couldn't recognize my own tail it was so swollen and red. I whimpered as she placed it down again as she turned to yell something to the man behind her. He nodded his head and stepped forward. I hissed as the man got nearer to me and tried to tug away from the people but then I heard that gentle murmur from the girl again. I looked right into her face noting her brown eyes and wavy brown locks. She smiled at me and patted my head again gurgling at me again in her soft voice. It was calming to say the least. Now I really wanted to figure out what this female was looking for in me. She was so strange and compelling it just made me want to find out an answer for her gazes. I wanted to answer her. I hadn't spoke in so long the other mer not socializing much with me intensified my silence and my imposed exile from the reef even more so. I hadn't spoken in the merfolks trilling language in forever I wondered if I could still do it, or not. I just wanted to answer in some way so I tried. I opened my mouth and to my surprise it worked. I trilled and clicked in the surface mer tongue asking just one simple word. _Why?_


	11. Chapter 11

Her eyes widened as I spoke in the mer tongue so I asked again. _Why?_ She looked away from me down the slab I was on and I followed her gaze suddenly realizing something was wrong. When I looked down the man who came with her was tugging something around my tail. I hissed in pain and immediately tried to get away from him but the men were still holding me down. I snarled at them with pure hatred willing them to leave me alone but they didn't seem to take the hint. I felt the female rubbing my ear fin again, but I was reluctant to wanting to relax again. For fins sake that man was hurting me! I twisted as he tugged it tighter around my tail. I screeched. I had had enough of this! I struggled to sit up and fling these humans to kingdom come if they kept insisting on touching me! I shrieked at the man baring my fangs at him. That seemed to work as he stepped back looking a little frightened. I hissed and twisted away from the men as they let go. I lay there panting from the exertion. I growled at the men ominously before I let myself enjoy the girl rubbing my fins again. Let that be a lesson to you.


End file.
